Poland opens Jewish museum on former site of Warsaw Ghetto USC Shoah Foundation staff member named chief education specialist

Monika Koszynska, the USC Shoah Foundation’s regional coordinator in Poland, has been appointed as Chief Specialist in Education at the newly inaugurated Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

The state-of-the-art facility is the first museum dedicated to the history, culture and contributions of Polish Jews, whose story spans nearly one thousand years. Built on the former site of the Warsaw Ghetto, the museum opened its doors on the 70^th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which began on April 19, 1943.

“The museum is in the heart of the Jewish district. It faces Nathan Rappaport’s monument to the ghetto fighters, and it’s situated in the literal center of the former Warsaw Ghetto.” Koszynska said. “But it’s not just a Holocaust memorial institution. It celebrates the living heritage of Polish Jews.

“As chief specialist in education, it’s my job to design educational programs for schools and other groups and coordinate with educators. And when the museum gains access to our Visual History Archive—bringing the voices of 11,680 survivors born in Poland back to our country, along with the recollections of tens of thousands of other Holocaust witnesses—I’ll coordinate the effort to bring testimony into every classroom in Poland.”